Crutch



June 21, 1955 A. R. LOFSTRAND, JR,

CRUTCH Filed April 25; 1951' fin is 76 RLo/sZranalJr:

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INVENTOR BY MQLM ATTORNEYS United States Patent CRUTCH Anders Rudolf Lofstrand, Jr., Rockville, Md., assignor to The Lofstrand Company, Rockville, Md.

Application April 23, 1551, Serial No. 222,419

1 Claim. (Cl. 135-50) This invention relates to crutches and is an improvement over the construction shown in my prior Patent No. 2,453,632, issued November 9, 1948, for Crutch.

An object of this invention is to provide a crutch which is adjustable as to length, the adjustment being made below and above the hand grip.

Another object or" this invention is to provide a crutch construction including an improved means of attaching the arm clamp to the upper portion of the staif.

A further object of this invention is to provide a crutch which is formed in most part out of tubular material and may be formed out of aluminum or other light weight material.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a detailed side elevation partly broken away of a crutch constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing the numeral designates generally a tubular stafi which is formed of a vertically disposed tubular member 11 having telescoping into the lower end thereof a second tubular member 12. The lower member 12 has mounted on the lower end thereof a rubber shoe or cap 13.

The staff 10 includes an obtusely bent upper portion 14 within which a tubular member 15 telescopes, and the inner member 15 is vertically adjustable in the upper member 14 by means of an opposed pair of locking pins or bolts 16 which are secured to a substantially U- shaped spring 17. The inner tubular member 15 is provided with diametrically opposed openings 18 through which the locking pins 16 slidably engage, and the upper member 14 is provided with a series of lengthwise spaced apart pairs of openings or keepers 19 within a selected pair of which the locking pins 16 are adapted to engage.

The lower members 11 and 12 are adjustably locked in endwise adjusted position by means of a pair of opposed locking pins 20 carried by a U-shaped spring 21, and the outer tubular member 11 is formed with a plurality of vertically spaced apart pairs of openings 22 within which the pins 20 are adapted to engage. A fixed hand gripping member 23 extends right angularly from the upper portion of the leg or staff member 11 and is carried by a sleeve or bushing 24 which is fixed by a pin 25 to the upper end portion of the leg or stafi member 11.

The upper tubular member 15 extends about a stud 26 which projects downwardly from a clevis or U-shaped member 27. a The stud 26 is formed with a pair of opposed recesses 28, and the upper portion of the tubular member 15 is pressed inwardly to form detents as indicated. at 29 so as to firmly secure the stud 26 within the tubular member 15.

A split arm clamping sleeve 30 is disposed at the upper end of the staff 10 and includes a block 31 which is secured to the sleeve 30 by means of fastening members 32. The block 31 is pivotally mounted between the arms of the clevis 27 being pivotally mounted on a pin 33 which extends through the arms of the clevis 27. The arm clamping member 30 may be disposed in the position shown in Figure 1 or, if desired, may be swung to the left so as to be disposed in a substantially diametrically disposed position on the opposite side from the hand gripping member 23. In the use of this crutch the arm gripping member 30 is engaged about the arm preferably below the elbow, and the hand on the arm engaged by the arm gripping member 30 is engaged about the handle or hand gripping member 23. The arm clamping member 30 may be lengthwise adjusted with respect to the upper staff member 14 by adjusting the locking pins 16 in selected pairs of openings or keepers 19. In like manner the staff 10 below the hand grasping member 23 may be extended or retracted by disposing the locking pins 20 in selected pairs of openings or keepers 22. This crutch is adapted to be madevout of tubular material and, preferably, of light weight metal such as aluminum or the like and is designed so that the arm clamping member 30 will loosely hold the crutch onto the arm in the event the handle or hand gripping member 23 is released.

What is claimed is:

A crutch comprising an elongated tubular staff formed of integral upper and lower tubular members disposed on an obtuse angle relative to each other, a tubular lower extension member telescoping into said lower tubular member, means securing said lower extension in adjusted position in said lower tubular member, an upper tubular extension member telescoping into said upper tubular member, means adjustably securing said upper extension member in said upper tubular member, a U- shaped clevis, a stud carried by said clevis projecting into the upper end of said upper extension member, said stud having a pair of diametrically disposed recesses in the peripheral surface thereof, a pair of detents carried by said upper extension member engaging in said recesses to thereby fixedly secure said stud in said upper extension member, a split arm engaging member carried by said clevis, a hand grip secured to and projecting right angularly from the upper end of said lower tubular member, said upper tubular member having a plurality of horizontally aligned pairs of apertures therethrough, said pairs of apertures being arranged vertically, said upper tubular extension having a single pair of oppositely disposed apertures therein, a pair of bolts extending through said last-mentioned apertures and into a selected pair of said first-mentioned apertures, and a U- shaped resilient sheet member biasing said bolts outwardly of said tubular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 470,514 Simpson Mar. 8, 1892 2,453,632 Lofstrand Nov. 9, 1948 2,516,852 Burry et al. Aug. 1, 1950 2,590,607 Grimball Mar. 25, 1952 

